Quite the buzz on this one.

The Eau Claire City Council chambers will be buzzing Monday and Tuesday with debate over a stinging issue: Should people be able to keep honey bees within city limits? The council-appointed Advisory Commission on Sustainability thinks so, and it has drafted a proposed ordinance creating rules for urban beekeepers.

In a summary of the plan, the commission waxes poetic about the helpful insects: “Honey bees are of a benefit to humans, and to Wisconsin in particular, by providing agriculture, fruit and garden pollination services (at least a third of all food crops) and by furnishing honey, wax, and other useful products. The honey bee has been designated as the official Wisconsin insect and gentle strains of honey bees can be maintained within populated areas in reasonable densities without causing a nuisance if the bees are properly located and carefully managed and maintained.” The proposed ordinance would require prospective beekeepers to give the city a detailed diagram of where they’d keep their hives (including distances from neighboring structures). It would also require them to get written consent from 80 percent of their neighbors and to pay $45 for an annual license. (If you want to comb through the details, read this.)

While it’s clear the Commission on Sustainability is sweet on the idea of city bees, it remains to be seen if the idea will stick in the ordinance book. After all, the council rejected a proposal for backyard chickens in 2011. The proposed ordinance will be up for public discussion at the City Council’s meeting at 7pm Monday, so make your way to City Hall if you’d like to speak your mind. (There’s a time limit for testimony, so please don’t drone on, honey.) The City Council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance at its legislative session at 4pm Tuesday. We’ll have to wait until then to see if they give honey bees – and their keepers – a hive five.